Bardon Mill author publishes first children’s picture book

The collection tells the individual tales of each resident who lives there, a mixture of animals from shrews to flamingos, who with the help of their friends work together to make things just that little bit better for everyone.

Readers will be introduced to a friendly hedgehog in ‘Henrietta Hedgehog’s Bog’ who wants to protect all beasties and bugs, no matter how big or small or how smelly their home is.

There’s only one problem; the stinky bog that’s rotting at the bottom of Hawthorne Street is upsetting the neighbours and something needs to be done... The residents need to work together to come up with a fix to get rid of the stink and cheer up Henrietta

As a farmer’s wife and working mother she has always had an interest in storytelling and creative writing, when she finds time and after working on a longer story for older children for several years, Laura had a sudden change of direction during Covid lockdown.

“I gave birth to my second child at the start of lockdown 2019 and having two babies under two meant I was reading a lot of picture books during that time.

"After years of working on other stories for adults and older children and never quite finding the right subject, The Homes on Hawthorn Street collection came to me really quickly and I had the basis of four stories written within six weeks!” Laura explains.

“The illustration and publishing process has been a lot longer along with getting websites and promotional materials ready for a launch, but it is great to see Henrietta’s tale available to buy and hopefully being enjoyed by other families as much as by mine.”

The second book in the collection has just been commissioned by the publishers and ‘Jeremy Shrew Breaks the Rules’ will be available later this year.

To find out more information can find out more about The Homes on Hawthorne Street or buy a signed copy of ‘Henrietta Hedgehog’s Bog’ online at laurakatebooks.co.uk.